This invention relates to surgical apparatus in general, and more particularly to devices for trimming wire strands during a surgical procedure.
In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/368,273, filed Aug. 31, 1999 by Gregory E. Sancoff et al. for SURGICAL SUTURING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD OF USE, which patent application is hereby incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a suturing instrument for passing strands of wire suture through tissue and then twisting the ends of the wire strands together, whereby to suture the tissue.
As a consequence of this procedure, at the conclusion of the suturing operation, the twisted ends of the wire suture typically stand proud above the tissue. For many applications, this does not present a problem. However, in other applications, the fact that the twisted wire ends project above the tissue can present a problem. As a result, it may be desirable to perform a subsequent, secondary operation on the twisted wire ends so as to reduce the profile of the wire suture. For example, it may be desirable to bend the twisted wire ends down toward the tissue, and/or to trim away a portion of those ends, etc.
As a result, one object of the present invention is to provide a surgical tool for reducing the profile of twisted wire ends projecting above tissue.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical tool for bending the twisted wire ends down toward the tissue.
And another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical tool for trimming off a portion of the twisted wire ends projecting above tissue.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical tool for trimming off a portion of the twisted wire ends projecting above tissue, and for releasably capturing those trimmed-off wire ends to the tool.
And another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical tool which can be used to perform operations on filament strands positioned within the body, wherein those filament strands may be formed out of metal wire and non-metal filaments including, but not limited to, monofilament suture, etc.
These and other objects are addressed by the present invention, which comprises a novel surgical tool for trimming wire strands during a surgical procedure.
In one form of the invention, there is provided apparatus for manipulating a material during a surgical procedure, the apparatus comprising: a first jaw having a distal end and a proximal end; a second jaw having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end of the first jaw and the proximal end of the second jaw being pivotally connected to one another so as to open and close the distal end of the first jaw and the distal end of the second jaw relative to one another; a gripping mechanism for capturing the material, the gripping mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; a cutting mechanism for shearing the material, the cutting mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; and a storage mechanism for trapping the material, the storage mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw.
In another form of the invention, there is provided a method for manipulating a material during a surgical procedure, the method comprising: providing apparatus for manipulating a material during a surgical procedure, the apparatus comprising: a first jaw having a distal end and a proximal end; a second jaw having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end of the first jaw and the proximal end of the second jaw being pivotally connected to one another so as to open and close the distal end of the first jaw and the distal end of the second jaw relative to one another; a gripping mechanism for capturing the material, the gripping mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; a cutting mechanism for shearing the material, the cutting mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; and a storage mechanism for trapping the material, the storage mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; positioning the first jaw and the second jaw adjacent to the material; capturing the material with the gripping mechanism; positioning the material captured with the gripping mechanism; and releasing the first jaw and the second jaw from the material.
And in still another form of the invention, there is provided a method for manipulating a material during a surgical procedure, the method comprising: providing apparatus for manipulating a material during a surgical procedure, the apparatus comprising: a first jaw having a distal end and a proximal end; a second jaw having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end of the first jaw and the proximal end of the second jaw being pivotally connected to one another so as to open and close the distal end of the first jaw and the distal end of the second jaw relative to one another; a gripping mechanism for capturing the material, the gripping mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; a cutting mechanism for shearing the material, the cutting mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; and a storage mechanism for trapping the material, the storage mechanism being formed by the first jaw and the second jaw; and shearing the material with the cutting mechanism, wherein the material projecting away from tissue is sheared therefrom.